• Seven-time world champion upbeat for 2026

• ‘I’m more connected to this car for sure,’ he says

Lewis Hamilton believes he is in the “best place” he has been at Ferrari, with a new car that carries his “DNA”.

The seven-time champion failed to take a podium place for the first time and finished sixth in the drivers’ championship, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth in his debut season. By the end, he was clearly disenchanted, describing his first year at Ferrari as a “nightmare”.